Chitlin Circuit Double-entendre -filled Soul 2004 (and onward) Theodis Ealey's "Stand Up In It" is a song of the year

Thanks. Oh, haven't heard latest Ghostface. Intended too

So I realize Southern soul can be formulaic, and changing the subject and pointing out other genres can be as well is just dodging the question, but I'm gonna do it anyway and say that new Bettye Lavette kinda follows its own standard formula. She takes baby-boomer rock songs (Stones, Beatles & Dylan this time) and slooooooows them down. She has got a great gritty soul voice, but I wish she'd vary the tempos. I need to hear that ep she did where she covered Sam Cooke and Billie Holiday. I wonder if the arrangements are any better.

do you guys like those Tre Williams/Revelations records?

I thought Concrete Blues, from 2011, was really good. That's the only one I've heard, though.

I am so behind in catching up on certain 2014 albums in this genre.

Now Mr.Sam's 2009 "Picking Up Pieces" is my kind of ballad

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lpOKOa8xqNY

Not as wowed by some of the catalogue of Baton Rouge or New Orleans based Stephanie McDee as Daddy B. Nice is, but she's got a decent voice and maybe I just haven't heard all the right songs. It is kinda fascinating to me that her zydeco cut "Call the Police" has been covered by both Quintron & Miss Pussycat and by Neneh Cherry when she recently worked with jazz group That Thing (I think that's what they are called. Saw it on Youtube).

Aww man, the DC leg of the Blues is Alright southern soul tour got cancelled. Knucklehead promoter was overcharging $60 to $160 for the gig. It would have been great though to see Mel Waiters again, plus Clarence Carter, Shirley Brown, and this thread's namesake Theodis Ealey.

The Mighty Sam McClain Fan Page on Facebook reported that he had a stroke and is still hospitalized. The left side of his body has been affected but his voice has not been. He can be contacted:Mighty Sam McClainRoom 407Northeast Rehabilitation Hospital105 Corporate RdPortsmouth, NH 03801-6825

old-school soul more than Southern, but wasn't sure where else to put this. He also did an awesome one-off album and tour with an Iranian singer Mahsa Vahdat

He covers "Members Only" the song Bobby Bland did
http://shorefire.com/releases/entry/at-71-jerry-lawson-original-lead-singer-of-the-persuasions-releases-his-deb

It's not as good as Bobby's by the way. The Lawson album is nice, and he's not singing a cappella, but in a retro lets recreate soul music manner with Nashville alt-country folks and others. Even though he is no new guy trying to embrace an old style, it just feels a bit stiff at times. Maybe it will grow on me, or I should be more tolerant as he has a wonderful voice still

http://www.stwnewspress.com/opinion/kathleen-mcelroy-country-in-your-soul-one-at-a-time/article_52fad7d8-d5c8-11e4-87da-c3d8854f9f55.html

Interview with Professor Charles Hughes re his new book Country Soul

3 pm, Sunday, May 10, 2015. The Fairgrounds, 1457 Ellisville Boulevard, Laurel, Mississippi. Mother's Day Blues Festival. T.K. Soul, Kenne Wayne, Ms. Jody, Vick Allen, Pokey, Mr. Sam, Sir Charles Jones, Storm, Robert Evans. 601-649-9010. Gates open at 12 Noon

Wish this kind of gig could come up my way

Oh no...

Mel Waiters Is Currently Being Treated In A Texas Hospital For Cardio Pulmonary Complications...

Not current Southern soul, but still of interest.

http://www.newyorker.com/culture/culture-desk/how-two-guys-saved-soul-singers-from-obscurity

How did I never hear till recently Frank Lucas "The Man with the Singing Ding-a-Ling"...It was uh released in the 2000s

And how did I miss Donnie Ray's 2011 "Who's Rockin' You (when you ain't rockin' me)"

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l_Bald7M4-s

What a great voice he has, and that's a catchy tune too

I wrote about that Donnie Ray album in this roundup, actually.

http://www.villagevoice.com/2011-03-09/music/southern-soul-guide-sweet-angel-mel-waiters-and-luther-lackey/2/

Ah, so you did -- Ray's most sugar-sweet beach-soul hooks

Yep

http://www.nola.com/music/index.ssf/2015/05/mel_waiters_southern_soul_blue.html

Oh no, RIP Mel Waiters dead at 58 from cancer.

I interviewed him back in 2009 and enjoyed his live act too. A shame he never reached the broader audience that some of his music could have impressed.

Still bumming me out that he is gone. Plus, that xhuxk and I are the only ones here on ilx who knew any of his music.

My local Pacifica public radio station paid tribute to Mel Saturday. Also some stuff on twitter (including postings by young African-Americans who heard Waiters via their parents playing him)

Been listening to Mel's Poor Side of Town album. That track and "Pouring salt" are first-rate

RIP Mighty Sam Mcclain, 72. He had a stroke

http://www.wmur.com/entertainment/mighty-sam-mcclain-grammynominated-blues-singer-from-nh-dies/33610568

I liked him live with Iranian singer Mahsa vahdat, but he also toured and recorded with Hubert Sumlin I think. Was raised in Louisiana

Awww, another death to report:

Not seeing an obit yet, but Alligator Records is reporting that Wendell Holmes, soulful singer/guitarist of the the Holmes Brothers band has passed on at age 72.

http://touch.dailypress.com/#section/-1/article/p2p-83793598/

Earlier this year, the group's drummer Popsy Dixon died.

Sherman Holmes, 75, said it has been a tough year for him emotionally.

"It has taken a toll on me," he said. "I miss them so much. I miss Popsy, and I miss being with my brother. It's not the same, even though I'll carry it on. It’s just that I feel lonely. When I go on the road without them there, it's very lonely."

I think only a couple of us here on ilx know of the greatness of the Holmes Brothers. RIP. Sherman's gonna keep going I think with a new group

Nellie Tiger Travis "Hey Mr Sexy Man" is lodged in my head and I keep repeating it

That solo Jerry Lawson with alt-country band album is growing on me. Lawson was also on that tv show Sing-Off after he left the Persuasions

Denise Lasalle turns 76 today.

I gotta catch up with Big Daddy Nice's fave songs

http://www.southernsoulrnb.com/corner2015.cfm

plus this Louisiana southern soul comp he likes:

VARIOUS ARTISTS: BEAT FLIPPA, I Got the Blues, Vol.1 (Music Access/Ross Music)

Five Stars ***** Can't Miss. Pure Southern Soul Heaven.

Lotsa cuts by Pokey, but Cupid (whose music I have heard) is on it too.

Read on FB that great southern soul singer Roy C. had a heart attack. Hope he's gonna be ok

He's doing better!

Saved by the bell!

Big southern soul shows near me at arenas always seem to get cancelled at the last minute, but it looks like the Millie Jackson, Clarence Carter, Latimore, Nellie Tiger Travis one is gonna happen at Showplace Arena Saturday night

Been digging some Carl Sims

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7YITNOFZleo

and this Wilson Meadows is my '15 summer jam

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9iBlIiGKQpw

Just saw Wilson Meadows live, as he and his band substituted for Roy C on the bill with Millie Jackson, Clarence Carter, Latimore,& Nellie Tiger Travis. He was pretty good. Millie was foul-mouthed, soulful, and exciting with a big talented band. Clarence Carter did his hits fairly well, although he is getting old and starting to lose some of his vocal range and power. Latimore was uneven--hitting notes nicely at times, but on some songs he was too busy noodling indulgently on his keyboard.

http://www.stlamerican.com/news/columnists/bernie/article_707e9226-3587-11e5-8890-57b1c19ae033.html

Old-school soul in St Louis tonight; plus they are honoring veteran radio djs

Some members of The Yahoo old-school Southern soul email group are excited about the below Are Records comp:

Back To The River: More Southern Soul Stories 1961-1978 Various Artists (A Southern Soul Story)

I haven't heard it yet

Ace Records not Are

Mobile, Alabama radio station list

WDLT's All Blues Saturday show with Nikki deMarks, Stormy, and Cathe B is awesome and worth listening to each week!!

1. Sweet It Be - Wilson Meadows
2. Let's Party - Lebrado
3. I Will - J-Redd featuring Black Diamond
4. Touch Your Spot - Tucka
5. I Ain't Gone Lie This Time - Ms. Jody
6. Mr. Wrong - Lacee
7. Groove It How You Move It - Veronica Ra'elle ft Tyree Neal
8. My Sidepiece - Louisiana Blues Brothers
9. One Big Party - Solomon Thompson
10. Blues & BBQ - Bigg Robb featuring Denise LaSalle

A few of those are on this playlist I just put together last week:

http://www.rhapsody.com/blog/post/southern-soul-blues-summer-2015

My favorites so far; more or less this order:

Lady Ebony – Food Stamps
D. Saunders – Leave Your Loving With Me
Big Cynthia – I’m Here For You Baby
Charles Wilson – Good Ole Monday
Calvin Richardson – Dark Side Of Love
Jaye Hammer feat. Donnie Ray – Is She Waiting On You?
Jeter Jones – Cold Pepsi
Willie Hill – I Gotta Get My Groove On
Stevie J Blues – Another Jody Song
Veronica Raelle feat. Adrian Bagher – Let’s Do It
Louisiana Soul Brothers feat. Pokey and Major Clark Jr. – My Sidepiece
Carl Marshall – Cheating Town

The new Ms. Jody album has some impressive melodies and grooves. I still have to catch up on most of the rest listed there

movie doc "Syl Johnson: Any Way The Wind Blows" to world premiere at Chicago International Film Festival

For some reason, Yo La Tengo was hired to do the score for this effort about that Chicago soul singer.

I'm liking the Louisiana Blues Brothers

Forgot to mention that Millie Jackson in addition to doing a country cover, also did Def Leppard's "Pour Some Sugar on Me."

http://www.npr.org/sections/therecord/2015/09/15/440363012/a-rational-conversation-do-we-need-new-old-soul-music

Sigh...Another writer who seems to have never heard of the synths and cheating lyric southern soul discussed in this thread

I think current chitlin circuit southern soul artists with their use of keyboards and synths are more modern than say old country singers at Branson. But Scott S's theory is nonetheless interesting

Saw Hardway Connection yesterday and they have added a conga percussionist. Sounded great. "Southern soul Rompin'"